Gloria Ziemienski kindly gave me a copy of her new book of poems the other day: There are Times:Pages from a Poet’s Journal. This is one of them.

Distractions

I sit in the quiet, praying.

a name comes to my mind.

As I pray for her,

I’m reminded of someone

or something else

and my mind takes off in

unplanned directions

which lead me toward

another someone or something,

until I gather my thoughts

and rein them all in,

trying to collect myself,

trying not to feel guilty

about my wandering mind.

Then I recall that St. Paul urges us

to pray without ceasing,

so I decide to take You with me

in my mind’s wanderings,

and offer you this day as my prayer.

January 21,2008